Opening Ceremony and Adidas Originals’ Goopy, Gleeful New Shoes

Preview: This story will appear in FADER #80, on stands soon. Today, Opening Ceremony released images of their first collaboration with Adidas, a collection of Olympics-inspired gear, available in July. Read about our favorite pieces from the collection, a jelly sandal and oxford, below.

While plenty of kids were piled into buses and shipped off to sleepaway camps, I spent my summers in the city, finding a million and one ways to make the sweltering concrete of Brooklyn sidewalks feel as soft and fun as green grass. The jelly sandal was my weapon of choice for stalking backyards and running roughshod over playgrounds. Never mind the childhood rumors that they could melt right off of your feet, the jelly was the only shoe light and bright enough for summertime shenanigans. Just like a head of fresh cornrows stacked with beads, every girl had them, making for a swirl of red and yellow PVC hopping over jump ropes all across the borough.

Opening Ceremony and adidas Originals have teamed up for a line of apparel and kicks that revive that same sense of juvenile fun. For the girls at heart, they’ve created a more refined and sturdy sandal than the five dollar jellies I rocked back in the day. They’ve also expanded the concept to include boys, with a translucent plastic Oxford shoe. The cushy, bubbly comfort of these jelly classics is perfect for running relay races in the middle of the street on a summer night—the only thing we’ve left behind from those days is a proper curfew and a reasonable bedtime.